Thank you, Pat, for being such an effective representative for the PTA – you play such an important part in the education coalition and you’re someone we all look to for support and insight.
The PTA has long played a vital role in helping us to stay the course with programs that are working to help our children succeed.
Supportive parents are the backbone of educational success.
And without the PTA, we could not have made the important progress we’ve made in raising standards in our classroom and helping students to achieve to those higher standards.
Over the past six years we’ve seen real and significant gains in student achievement.
We cannot afford to lose ground.
Our children need us to be their advocates in protecting the progress we’ve made and increasing the gains we’ve seen in student achievement.
To do this, we must continue to focus on closing the achievement gap in every school and in every grade, because it is the single most significant issue facing public education in California today.
One of the ways i believe we can do this is by providing all children with access to a high quality preschool experience.
And so, i am sponsoring:
AB 2759 (Jones), which would consolidate all existing state preschool and Title 5 programs for 3- and 4-year-olds, creating the nation’s largest state-funded preschool program. This will help streamline the state’s preschool programs, as well as improve the efficiency and effectiveness of program administration; and
SB 1629 (Steinberg), a bill that would establish a commission that would be required to develop recommendations to create a preschool quality improvement system.
Both these measures are at the heart of my plan for closing the achievement gap.
And because our rapidly changing, technology-based world demands that we prepare all students to be critical thinkers, higher level problem solvers, and lifelong learners with the ability to embrace change, i am sponsoring:
AB 2515 (Hancock), which would allow the spi to approve and certify regional occupational centers and programs to offer ca apprenticeship preparation programs.
Cap programs would be state certified to raise students’ awareness and interest in building and construction trades apprenticeship programs while ensuring that students receive relevant hands-on instruction that is aligned with the state’s career technical education standards and framework.
So, on the legislative side, we’re working hard to give our students more educational access and to enhance the opportunities we already offer them.
Besides legislation, there’s another major issue we’re dealing with in sacramento and, that, as you all know, is the state budget.
Now, i’ve always made one thing clear: education is my #1 priority…sadly enough, the Governor doesn’t share this belief.
He believes in cutting education and risking the futures of millions of our students.
So when he says we have a spending problem, i say to him…no Governor, you have a priorities problem, a problem with your values.
His plan to cut education by a jaw-dropping $4.8 and to suspend Proposition 98 does a tremendous disservice to education in this state and threatens to seriously dampen the futures of millions of students.
We’re already 46th in the nation in per-pupil spending, at nearly $1,900 below the national per-pupil average.
Consider also that we invest:
- $5,100 per-pupil less than New Jersey;
- $4,000 less than Wyoming; and
- $1,500 less than Louisiana.
Do we want to be dead last? I hope not.
And if we’re providing so little in the way of resources to our students, it begs the question: how can we expect to grow our economy, to create a highly-qualified and adaptable workforce, and to attract business to invest in california and its people, when we lose sight of how crucial education is to our survival?
Well…the answer is we can’t.
I have sat with students and listened to their concerns and seen the immeasurable disappointment on their faces and heard it in their voices.
We need an on-time and equitable budget that helps education…not hurts it.
I sincerely hope that we receive the kind of budget revision in may that reflects a shift in the governor’s priorities…a shift that signals an unwavering support for education and for our students.
We face a rough road ahead…an arduous one to say the least, but i’m certain we’re up to the task.
Our schools are more efficient, more accountable, more welcoming, and more successful because of the work you do.
Our teachers are more supported, and our students happier and higher achieving because of your efforts. On behalf of all the public schools in california, thank you…i wish you a very successful conference.
